Single-edge blade dispenser



Sept. 29, 1953 E. A. NELSON SINGLE-EDGE BLADE DISPENSER Filed Aug. 6,1948 5 F 2 M u W H NL W l 7 N fl .r I A A 2 R m D W E Patented Sept. 29,1953 SINGLE-EDGE BLADE DISPENSER Edgar A. Nelson, New York, N. Y.,asslgnor to American Safety Razor Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., acorporation of Virginia Application August 6, 1948, Serial No. 42,849

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates generally to receptacles, and has particularreference to an improved receptacle or container for a stack of razorblades.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a razor blade packagein which a plurality of blades, in stacked relation, are neatlyaccommodated within a substantially rectangular box of simple,inexpensive, and attractive character, the box being provided with ameans whereby the blades may be ejected, one by one, as they are needed.

One of the more particular objects of the invention is to provide apackage which is specially desiged for, and uniquely adapted toaccommodate, razor blades of the type in which there is a relativelythick reinforcement extending lengthwise of the blade and having opposedfaces which are flat and parallel. Such a blade is exemplified by thewell-known single-edge blade in which the reinforcement referred toextends along the rear edge.

The type of blade for which the present receptacle is designed is alsoprovided with opposed notches in its side edges. In the single-edge typeof blade hereinbefore alluded to, these notches lie forwardly of thethickened rear edge reinforcement, and serve in the razor itself asmeans to accommodate blade-advancing lugs or the like.

Other objects of the present invention lie in the provision of aconstruction which permits the box to be easily and more expeditiouslyloaded by the manufacturer, which accommodates the stacked blades in arelationship which guards their cutting edges against injury and whichmakes it easy for the ultimate user to eject the blades, singly, and insuccession, without impairment of the cutting edge of any blade duringthe process of its ejection.

The structural features and innovations which make it possible toachieve these objectives in a receptacle which is so inexpensive that itmay be completely discarded after the accommodated blades have been allejected, will be set forth more fully hereinafter.

I achieve these objectives, and such other objects and advantages as mayhereinafter appear or be pointed out, in the manner illustrativelyexemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a box of the present improved character,one end wall in its original separated state, and prior to the insertionof any blades into the box;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the spring; Fig. 3 is a perspective viewof the slidable ejector;

wall I8 (Fig. 4).

terminates short of this aperture.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the loaded box, showing the relationshipof the parts during the ejection of a blade;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 55of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlargement of the upper part of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line'I'l of Fig. 5; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views taken substantially in thedirection 8-8 of Fig. 4, illustrating how the ejection of the uppermostblade is effected.

The type of blade toward the accommodation of which the presentinvention is particularly directed is shown most clearly in Fig. 7. Theblade has a forward cutting edge Ill, a rear-edge relatively thickreinforcement I l (whose opposite faces are flat and parallel), andnotches I2 in the opposite side edges. The blade illustrated has anelliptical opening I3 in its midportion, but this opening serves nofunction in connection with the present receptacle or package.

In the present package, a plurality of these blades are arranged in astack, with the reinforcements II in superposed relation, and with thecutting edges I 6 extending in the same direction. This brings thenotches I2 of the blades into substantial alignment. This stack isaccommodated within a box of the character shown most clearly in Fig. l.

The box may be composed of any suitable material, and is preferablyformed of two parts, each of which is a molded body of plastic or thelike. The main part consists of a bottom wall I4, a top wall I5, sidewalls I5 and I1, and an end This part of the box is thus open at the endopposite the end wall I8, and it is through this open end that the stackof blades, and other elements necessary for the construction, areinserted during the loading procedure.

In the top wall I5 there is provided a longitudinal slot I8. This slotis arranged perpendicular to theend wall I8 and terminates short of thatwall. However, the slot extends all the way to the opposite end of thebox structure, as shown in Fig. l. The slot is arranged relatively closeto the side wall I1.

On its interior, the end wall I8 is provided with a rib 20 which extendsalmost for the full height of the wall I8. In its upper region, the wallis provided with an aperture 2| which is substantially parallel to thetop wall I5. The rib 20 The aperture is enlarged at one end, as shown at22, and is 3 similarly enlarged at the opposite end as at 23, thepurpose of these enlargements being hereinafter described.

The other part of the box structure is the end wall 24 (Fig. 1) which isadapted to be applied to the box only after all accommodated blades andother elements have been loaded into position. The end wall 24 is ofsuch character that when it is applied to the loaded box, it looksitself into permanent association with the structure so that theultimate user will not by inadvertence disassemble the box structure.

As shown most clearly in Figs. 1 and '7, the end wall 24 is providedwith a rib 25. extending for substantially the full height of. the wall24. The rib 25 corresponds to the rib 20, in opposed relation to thelatter, as shown most clearly in '7. The ribs 20 and 25 are adapted toengage within the opposed notches l2 in the blade stack.v The rib 25 is,however, a little longer than the rib 20, so that the entire stack isconstantly maintained in the position most clearly shown in Fig. '7, i.e., nearer the end wall l8 than the wall 24.

To hold the wall 24 in position, after the. box has been loaded, ears 26are formed on opposed side edges, and these ears deflect slightly andsnap into, permanent engagement with corresponding depressions 2'!formed in the box body. Any other convenient construction orrelationship of parts, to permit the end wall 24 to be separatelyconstructed and. assembled with the box only after the loadingprocedure, and to permit the association to be a self-locking orotherwise permanent one, may be employed.

Before describing the loading procedure, at tention is directed to Figs.2 and 3. In Fig. 2 I have illustrated the present improved type ofspring. It, is essentially a leaf spring, but is composed of two opposedarcuate or bowed portions 28 and 29, joined at 30. This spring has theadvantage of being simple to make and use, of being readily compressibleinto the condition shown in Figs. 8 and 9, and maintaining a greatamount of resilience during all stages of its relaxation into therelatively open position shown in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 3 I have shown the ejector. This consists essentially of a shank3| which fits slidably into the slot [9, a manually engageable outerpart 32 (which may be formed in any convenient manner and of any desiredshape), and an inner part which engages the uppermost blade of thestack. It is a particular feature of the present invention to providethis inner part of the ejector in a manner which provides a flat' bottomface 33 adapted to overlie the engaged blade, and a depending lug 34 atthe rear end of the face 33.

After the several parts of the boxhave. been manufactured, it is loadedas follows: The ejector shown in Fig. 3 is first inserted into the slotl9 through the open rear end of the slot. The spring of Fig. 2 is theninserted into the box directly adjacent to the side wall IT. The stackof blades is then inserted, with the superposed reinforcement ll lyingadjacent to the wall I'I. During the insertion, the spring is compresseduntil it ultimately assumes the position shown in Fig. 8. When the stackhas been completely inserted, the inner notch 12 will be engaged withthe rib 20 as shown in Fig. '7. As a final step, the end wall 24 isapplied and snapped into position. This serves not only to seal the rearend of the slot I9, but also to force the rib 25 into the correspondingnotches l2 of the blade stack. The ejector is then drawn to the rear endof the slot [9, and the package is ready for use. In this condition, theparts are in the relationship shown in Fig. 8. It will be observed thatthe depending lug 34 of the ejector has positioned itself between theblade stack and the end wall 24. This space or gap is provided by virtueof the increased depth of the rib 25 compared with that of the rib 20,and also by virtue of the fact that the box has a length slightlygreater than the length of the blade stack.

The lug 34 has a. depth no greater than that of a single. reinforcementII, and since the bottom flat face 33 of the ejector rests upon thereinforcement ll, there is never any possibility of engagement (by theejector) of more than the single uppermost blade of the stack.

The aperture 2| in the end wall I8 is so positioned that it is inalignment with the uppermost blade of the stack. The enlargement 22 isfor the. purpose of affording ample clearance for the cutting edge ofthe blade as it is ejected. The enlargement 23 is for the obviouspurpose of permitting passage through it of the thickened reinforcementH.

By virtue of the fact that the spring lies beneath the superposedreinforcements ll, these reinforcements are constantly pressed togetherso as to lie fiatwise with respect to one another, as shown most clearlyin Fig. 5. As a result, the cutting edges of the blades are constantlymaintained in spaced relationship, thus safeguarding them againstinadvertent contact with other edges. Preferably, the top wall I5 isprovided on its interior face with one or more depressed parts 35against which the uppermost blade may abut. This affords, extra supportfor the uppermost blade, and assuresv a maintenance. of alignment of theblade during the ejection procedure.

The parts being normally in the position shown in Fig. 8, the ejectionof the uppermost blade is obviously effected by advancing the ejectorforwardly along the slot I9. This ejects the blade as indicated mostclearly in Figs. 4 and 9. During this procedure, the entire blade stacktips slightly under the unique action of the present spring, asindicated in Fig. 9, thus helping to prevent any but the uppermost bladefrom emerging from the aperture 2|. During the return movement of theejector, the stack assumes its normal position as shown in Fig. 8, andthe ejector lug 34 snaps into position behind the blade which has nowassumedthe uppermost position.

This ejection procedure is repeated whenever another blade is to bedischarged, and the operation is the same in each case, regardless ofthe number of blades in the stack. After all blades have beendischarged, the empty receptacle may be discarded.

In general, it will be understood that many of the details hereindescribed and illustrated may obviously be modified by those skilled inthe art without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A dispensing magazine for unwrapped single-edge safety razor bladesof the type having a reinforcing back and end notches, comprising acasing having top, side and end walls, and bottom, a discharge slot atthe intersection of one end wall and the top, widened at one end topermit passage of the reinforcing back, an

opening in the top behind the widened end of the slot providing accessto the blades, vertical guide bars in the end walls, the forward barterminating at the lower edge of the discharge slot, a stack of bladesin the casing with their reinforcing backs in contact and their endnotches in alignment and embracing the vertical guide bars, a springinterposed between the bottom of the casing and the bottom of the bladestack, engaging the reinforcing back of the lowermost blade and urgingthe stack upward with the topmost blade against the underface of the topand in alignment with the discharge slot, and a longitudinal rib on theunderface of the top spaced from the side wall of the casing, which isadjacent the reinforcing backs of the blades, a distance slightlygreater than the width of the reinforcing backs and thereby cooperatingwith said adjacent side wall to hold the topmost blade in alignment withthe other blades of the stack.

2. A dispensing magazine for unwrapped singleedge safety razor blades ofthe type having a reinforcing back and end notches, comprising a casinghaving a top, side and end walls, and bottom, a discharge slot at theintersection of one end wall and the top of such shape and size as topermit passage of a blade having a reinforcing back, vertical guide barsin the end walls, the forward bar terminating at the lower edge of thedischarge slot, a stack of blades in the easing with reinforcing backsin contact and end notches in alignment and embracing the vertical 6guide bars, a spring interposed between the bottom of the casing and thebottom of the blade stack, engaging the reinforcing back of thelowermost blade and urging the stack upward with the topmost bladeagainst the under face of the top and in alignment with the dischargeslot, the top having an opening providing access to the reinforcingbacks of the blades, and a longitudinal rib on the under-face of the topspaced from the side wall of the casing, which is adjacent thereinforcing backs of the blades, a distance slightly greater than thewidth of the reinforcing backs and thereby cooperating with saidadjacent side wall to hold the topmost blade in alignment with the otherblades of the stack.

EDGAR A. NELSON.

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